The Final Journey
by dandamanzx
Summary: Poketopia. The true test of a trainer's strength. The nefarious Team Rocket once again rises up and is back with a vengance. Only one trainer has the power to stop them. And what about this trainer links him with the legendary Rayquaza?
1. Mysteries

This story is inspired by Pokémon Battle Revolution. I absolutely loved that game, and decided to try to give it a storyline. Yay, me! Now on with the story!

The Final Journey

-

It was dark. All of the people in the room didn't seem to care, though. They knew that it was how their master liked it, and respected it. They knew that their master was a known and feared Pokémon trainer, and had ideas that would benefit them. Money. That was all Team Rocket had ever been about. It was all Team Rocket would ever be about. It certainly had come close to collapsing several times, especially after Giovanni had left. Now the Rockets had a new leader; a new master.

The four men standing in the room wondered when their master would come address them. Each of the four grunts had received a personal invitation to show up for this meeting, and none knew why. They only knew that it must be for something important, or were about to be severely punished for some reason.

Each man took a moment to look at the others. One was tall, thin, not very muscular, but was extremely noticeable because of his long blond hair tied up in a ponytail that trailed down to nearly his ankles. He also carried a long katana in a sheath on his back. The second man was tall, bald, and muscular to the point where you wouldn't doubt he could punch through a brick wall. The third man was not as tall, wore dark clothes, and wore a blood red scarf that hid the lower half of his face. His hair was purple and thrown back in spikes. The fourth man was tall, lean, had white spiky hair, and blood red eyes that matched with a stare so cold that it would make magma freeze over.

The men waited impatiently until they heard a resounding voice fill the room.

"Welcome, gentlemen. I assume that you're wondering why you're here." said the voice.

The four men looked to the source of the voice, and saw a lone man standing in the shadows. His form was indistinguishable in the darkness.

"You're here because you are the four chosen to lead a very special mission." the voice continued.

"Wait a second. Why have we been chosen out of all the other grunts?" interrupted the man with the long ponytail.

The figure in the shadows laughed and responded "You four have been chosen for one reason: because you are the best of the best. And because of that, I am hereby promoting you four to team commanders. Commander Zero," he gestured to the man with the long ponytail, "Commander Sig," He gestured to the heavily muscled man, "Commander Sirnaq," to the man with the scarf, "and Commander Solo." to the man with the white hair.

"All right then, what is this mission of such importance?" asked commander Solo in a voice as cold as his eyes.

"Your mission is to lead an assault on the island of Pokétopia. Each of you is to attack separately on key locations on the island's facilities. You will be assigned a small battleship and a squad of forty grunts per commander. You are to bring Pokétopia under the control of Team Rocket, and obtain the Pokémon of all trainers on the island during your attacks. Do you understand?"

The four commanders replied in unison "Yes, sir!"

The dark master couldn't help but laugh sinisterly. "Bwa ha ha ha! There'll be nobody to stop us this time! With this victory, Team Rocket will be able to dominate the rest of the world easily! HA HA HA!!"

-

The large cruise ship rocked gently as it crashed against the waves of the ocean. It was one of many cruise ships that were inbound for the same destination: the great trainer's playground that was known as Pokétopia. It was about 1:00 in the morning, and a young girl was still awake in her cabin. It's not that she didn't want to sleep, she just couldn't sleep. The girl was lying on her bed, with her anticipation of the great island raging through her mind. She knew that trainers from all over the world came to participate in the coliseum battles that Pokétopia was famous for, and was anxious to see all the different kinds of Pokémon those trainers would bring. She might even see a legendary Pokémon or two.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She got off the bed, unlocked her door, and started to walk through the ship's hallways until she found the deck.

She sighed, leaned against the railing on her elbows, and drank in the salty scent of the sea. She smiled as she began to reminisce about her journey. Getting Charmander from Professor Oak, Her first gym battle, catching a Pidgey in Viridian Forest and watching it evolve into a Pidgeot before her sixth gym challenge, spending time in the Safari Zone and catching her Rhyhorn and Dratini, getting a Bulbasaur and a Squirtle from her friends, and coming out of the Indigo Plateau as the Kanto region champion. It had been a long and difficult journey, but she would do it all over again, given the opportunity.

That had been three weeks ago. Not long afterward, she had registered to come to Pokétopia. She pulled her Battle Pass out of her pocket. It was white and lined with PokéBalls at the top right corner. It had her name, Cyndy, her picture, and face icons of her six Pokémon: Charmeleon, Wartortle, Ivysaur, Rhyhorn, Dragonair, and Pidgeot. She smiled at the card and put it in her pocket before watching the waves lap up against the side of the boat.

Then she heard a sound. It sounded like a hollow roar. It was nothing like she had ever heard before. It sounded like a Pokémon, but no Pokémon she had ever seen made a sound like that. She looked up to find the source of the terrifying sound.

She looked up, and was shocked at what she saw. A long, green dragon-like creature swooped down from the sky and began flying alongside the ship. The dragon had a triangular face with long fins protruding off the top and bottom of its head, a red rim around its mouth, fins on sections of its body 

lined in red, strange yellow patterns all around, and a pointed tail with two triangular fins fanning outward.

Cyndy had seen a Pokémon like this before, but only in books. The book depicted an ancient legend from the Hoenn region about how the legendary Groudon created the land, how the mighty Kyogre filled the sea, and how the two had fought and nearly destroyed the world they had made. She read how the mighty green dragon had come from the sky and soothed the two, sealing them away, and how the dragon had returned to the sky, never to descend.

What she was looking at now was that same dragon.

She was looking at Rayquaza.

And Rayquaza was looking back.

Rayquaza had noticed the girl on the side of the ship, and flew in closer. She was now looking into the massive green dragon's bright yellow eyes. She expected to see rage and hostility in its eyes, but instead saw curiosity and innocence.

She slowly reached out to touch Rayquaza's snout, which was only a couple of feet away. To her surprise, it didn't back away or attack her. She warily placed her finger tips, then her whole hand on the green solid head, and moved it back and forth, slowly petting the beast. Rayquaza enjoyed this for a few moments, before backing away and flying toward the bow, letting off a low hollow roar.

Without really knowing why, Cyndy ran off to the bow of the ship, after Rayquaza. Her mind was swimming with what had happened. The legendary Rayquaza, a Pokémon rumored to never to leave the ozone layer, had just come out of the sky and let her _pet _it.

She reached the bow, but saw no sign of the great dragon. She was about to run around to the other side of the boat and check there, but a voice stopped her.

"You won't find him there. He's gone back to where he came from." said the voice.

She turned and saw a tall young man leaning against a railing. He looked about sixteen, wore a black jacket with green markings on the lower sides and lower sleeves over a gray undershirt, black pants with a chain coming from one pocket, a black bag with a PokéBall etched on it, white sneakers, and neck-length silver hair that swayed in the wind. He was obviously a Pokémon trainer.

Not that her outfit wasn't just as obvious. She wore a black and red shirt with a matching skirt with a white PokéBall design on the lower right, black tight shorts under it, black shoes, a PokéBall themed bag like the other trainer wore, and a red and black cap with a white flower design on the front over her chocolate-brown hair. Her whole outfit screamed 'Pokémon trainer.'

"You saw it too? Rayquaza was actually here? It wasn't all a dream?" she asked.

The boy chuckled and replied "Even Rayquaza comes down to earth sometimes. You can never predict when or where, though."

The trainer paused to look to toward the sky and continued "Not unlike the journey of a Pokémon trainer. You never know when unexpected things may happen."

"You mean like those random annoying trainers that pop up out of nowhere thinking they can beat you with one Pokémon that they caught five minutes prior?" she said.

The trainer laughed at this and then responded "Not quite. That's to be expected. More like things like making new friends and partners along the way, meeting extremely rare Pokémon, you know. Stuff like that."

Cyndy started to slowly walk over to the railing that the trainer was leaning on. "Yeah, I guess so. I just never expected it to come up to me and let it pet it, though."

This caused the trainer to turn his head and raise an eyebrow. "He let you pet him?"

"It's a he? How do you know?" asked a confused Cyndy.

"I just get that feeling. I've known Rayquaza for a while. I bump into him when I least expect it. He's only let me go near him when I'm not alone, and he seems to trust me. If he let you touch him, then you must be a very special person."

"Well, I did become the Kanto region champion. Does that count?" she asked.

"You became the Kanto champ? Aw, man, you stole one of my titles."

"One of them?"

"Yeah. I've become the Kanto, Jhoto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh region champs at least once each."

"You have!? That's incredible! You must be a Pokémon master!"

"A Pokémon master? I don't really consider myself one. As long as there is some challenge I haven't taken on yet, I'm not a master. That's why I'm going to Pokétopia. It's the last real challenge out there. I intend to become the Pokétopia Master and complete my journey."

"Well then, you're gonna have to get through me first!" said Cyndy with a smile and a wink.

The trainer looked down at Cyndy and studied her for a moment. She looked into his eyes. They were the purest shade of emerald she had ever seen. She felt like she could get lost in them forever. They looked kind and gentle, but at the same time tough, as though he had seen many harsh battles and prevailed.

"What's your name?" he finally asked.

"Cyndy. And yours?"

"Name's Daniel. You can call me Dan, though. Well, Cyndy, honestly looking at you now, I highly doubt that you could beat me in a Pokémon battle." he said plainly

"What!? I resent that! I could beat you anytime, anywhere!" she said highly annoyed.

"Is that a challenge?" he asked with a cocky grin.

"You bet it is! C'mon! Right here, right now!" she said as she pulled a PokéBall off her belt.

Dan merely chuckled at the gesture. "You got spunk, kid, I'll give you that. We'll battle sometime, but not now."

"What? Why not?" she asked with disappointment.

"Cause I'm too dang tired." he said with a yawn. "Maybe once we get to Pokétopia. For now, I'm going back to bed. I'll keep an eye out for you."

He turned and walked back to the inside of the ship, but stopped for a moment.

"You know, if Rayquaza trusts you, then you truly are a special trainer. Rayquaza only trusts those with the purest of hearts. I think we could become good friends."

He continued walking, and re-entered the ship. Cyndy was left thinking about the strange trainer she just met. This Dan person seemed to know a lot about Rayquaza. Was there some sort of connection between the two of them? She could only wonder. She decided that she would take more time to get to know him after their battle.

With these thoughts in mind, she also returned to her cabin.

-

So, I inserted Cyndy from a rental pass, and my own custom trainer into this story, named after me! His equipment is: Cyber jacket, cool pants B, Pokétopia sneakers, PokéBall bag, Fingerless gloves, and Pokétopia beret (which he will get in the next chapter). His (my) Pokémon will be revealed next chapter as well. Dan vs. Cyndy! Gateway coliseum! Next chapter! Leave Reviews!!


	2. Welcome to Poketopia!

Okay, I guess that not many people have looked at this story. BUT I WON"T GIVE UP!! Anyone who reads this, please leave reviews, to make it look like people are interested in this!! Anyway, arrival at Pokétopia, and the Gateway coliseum! An epic battle at the end! Bring on chapter 2!

The Final Journey

-

10:00 pm. The glowing lights of Pokétopia were in full view. Dan was once again standing on the bow of the ship and watching as the glowing utopia was coming closer and closer into view. He looked upon a large number of buildings, most of them Pokémon shaped. There was a Toxicroak tower, a building with a Pikachu head on top, and a Bronzor Ferris Wheel. Yup, it was Pokémon themed, all right. As were most things in the world, but this city really took the cake.

Dan looked to the younger trainers who were pointing and commenting the city. He sighed and scratched the back of his head. He had lost his red beret after his journey through the Sinnoh region, and was on his first hatless journey. Yuck. That just didn't fit his style. He wouldn't worry about that right now. He looked around again for a certain chocolate-haired girl that he had met last night. He saw no sign of her. He shrugged it off. She'd turn up sooner or later.

Some twenty minutes later, the large cruise ship had docked with the welcoming center, which was attached to the coliseum in front of the city. Trainers of all ages started to pour off the boat in a hurry, all of them excited to finally reach their destination after the three-day cruise. After the crowd had died down, Dan disembarked as well. What he saw upon disembarking was a number of tourist attractions. A large number of shops, restaurants, trinket stands, as well as a couple of overzealous trainers battling.

He stopped to watch the two battling trainers. Two young boys, one with a Pikachu, and one with a Poochyena. The Pikachu was ordered to use a quick attack, which hit its mark with efficiency. The Poochyena retaliated with a well-placed tackle, and then used bite on the helpless little mouse. The Pikachu was able to retaliate with a thunder shock at the last second, causing the Poochyena to faint. The trainer, annoyed, withdrew the Poochyena into its PokéBall as the Pikachu trainer loudly celebrated his victory. What ammeters.

For the most part, Dan simply walked past the concessions without giving them much thought, until he saw one with an item that greatly interested him. A hat shop. And on a rack was a turquoise beret with a white rim, and a silver emblem on the side. He walked over, took the beret off the rack, and tried it on. It was comfortable, and fit very well.

"How do I look?" he asked the cashier.

"That hat? Looks great on ya."

"Great. I'll take it." He handed the cashier the money and walked off, highly pleased with his new headwear. He had never gone a journey without headwear. he had always worn a cap in the Kanto and 

Jhoto regions, a headband in the Hoenn region, and his Sinnoh adventure had gotten him hooked on berets.

He decided to make for the Gateway coliseum, as the officials and tourists called it, but was stopped by the young boy with the Pikachu.

"Hey, mister! Wanna battle with me?"

Dan regarded the boy for a second before replying

"You don't want to battle with me, kid. It'd break your spirit."

"Yeah, right! You're just scared of me!"

Dan actually laughed at this.

"Alright, kid. If you really want to lose that badly, I'll play your game." he said as he twirled a PokéBall on one finger and tossed and caught it with his other hand.

The two trainers stood about twenty-five feet apart, PokéBalls at the ready.

"Don't you hold back on me!" the kid yelled.

"Heh, your funeral." Dan replied.

The kid threw his PokéBall.

"Go! Pikachu!"

Dan threw a PokéBall.

"I choose you, Garchomp!"

One PokéBall released a small yellow mouse with red cheeks and a lightning bolt shaped tail, and the other revealed a dark blue bi-pedeal dragon with a red underbelly, single claws before long fins on its forearms, a fin on its back with a nick in it, a tail with two fins, and a head with two pods on either side just above and behind its yellow eyes. It had a mouth lined with sharp dagger-like teeth.

Obviously never seeing a monster like this before, the trainer and his Pikachu looked intimidated, but made the first move.

"Pikachu, use thunder shock!"

The mouse let off a stream of lightning at the dragon, and struck it. When the sparks passed, Garchomp was completely unscathed, seeing as how electric type moves had no effect on ground-types like Garchomp.

"Oh, please. Garchomp, attack with dragon claw."

Garchomp's right claw enveloped itself in a bright flame, before it charged at the Pikachu and slashed at it with the same claw. The attack struck home, sending the Pikachu reeling backward before laying on the ground unconscious.

Dan said nothing as he turned and walked away, gesturing for his loyal Garchomp to follow, which it did happily. Dan thought that it would be a good idea to let the dragon get some fresh air, as it often got restless in its PokéBall. He saw Garchomp walk off to a food cart, and start sniffing what the cook was cooking. Obviously it really wanted some fresh cooked burgers, but had enough self restraint to not just hawk it down without his trainer's approval. Dan chuckled and walked over to the food cart that his Garchomp was sniffing, and the cook was laughing heartily while patting the dragon on the head.

Ever since Dan had hatched him from little Gible from an abandoned egg on the side of the road in the Sinnoh region, He and Garchomp had been best friends. They understood each other, often times could tell what the other was thinking, and were a perfect team on the battlefield. They trusted each other with their lives.

Dan ordered four burgers; one for himself, and three for Garchomp. He would have ordered more for his other Pokémon, but none of the rest on his team of six ate meat; not even Charizard. Dan slowly enjoyed his burger, while Garchomp had already devoured one whole. When they were done, they continued walking toward the coliseum. Garchomp entertained himself by sniffing clothes that were for sale, walking up to random people and staring at them blankly in the face, and intimidating any passing Pokémon with a low roar and a flash of teeth.

While Garchomp was sniffing up a hat shop, Dan looked at an information board that informed trainers of an opportunity to participate in the Gateway coliseum's tournament. It was optional, and not required to complete in order to compete in other coliseums. Dan decided that he would just watch this one. It had already started while he and Garchomp had been fooling around.

He whistled to Garchomp, and they made their way to the large arena. Once there, he called his loyal dragon back into his PokéBall. He had made it just in time for the final round. The two trainers who were facing off were a tall muscular man named Tommy, and a familiar spunky chocolate-haired girl that he had met on the ship, Cyndy. Dan was not surprised to see Cyndy entered in this tournament, but was surprised to see her in the final round.

The commentator announced the start of the battle, and both trainers released their Pokémon onto the stage. Round one was Tommy's Primeape vs. Cyndy's Pidgeot. Dan chuckled. That would be a good match-up in Cyndy's favor. Sure enough, in one missed cross-chop and a successful aerial ace, Pidgeot had KO'ed its opponent. Both trainers withdrew their Pokémon, and sent out the next set: Cyndy's Rhyhorn vs. Tommy's Nosepass. Rhyhorn started off with a strong yet ineffective tackle, and Nosepass sent several thunderbolts at the large rhino. They all hit, but none worked. Then, much to everyone's surprise, Rhyhorn landed a horn drill on Nosepass, KOing instantly. The final round was: Cyndy's Dragonair vs. Tommy's Lombre. It was over as soon as Cyndy ordered a hyper beam from the snake-like dragon. The sinister beam erupted out of its mouth, and plowed into the Lombre with explosive force, 

making it faint. The commentator declared the battle over, and Cyndy threw her fist into the air in triumph.

While the audience was cheering on the victor, Dan decided to make a very bold move.

-

She had just come off a win in the final round of the Gateway coliseum tournament, and was being cheered for by the entire audience. Cyndy didn't have long to celebrate her victory, however, as a Trainer from the audience had leapt from the audience and was approaching the battlefield.

"What's this? It appears that the victor is being challenged by someone from the audience!" the commentator announced.

This was no ordinary trainer; this was the one she had met on the boat only last night. This was Dan, but he had bought a turquoise beret and was tossing a PokéBall to himself casually waiting for her to accept his challenge.

"Thought you might like to have that battle you promised me." he called.

"Sure! Sounds like fun!" she replied.

"One on one, anything goes?" he asked.

"Deal!" she agreed.

"The challenge is accepted! This will be a one-on-one battle, winner take all!" called the announcer.

The two threw their PokéBalls into the ring, calling out their Pokémon's names.

"Pidgeot, I choose you!"

"Go for it, Metagross!"

The large bird Pokémon, and the large platform-like Pokémon with cylindrical clawed legs both appeared on stage. They didn't wait for the starting signal.

"Pidgeot, use aerial ace!"

"Iron defense! Brace for impact!"

Pidgeot shot forward at Metagross with incredible speed and attacked, but Metagross held its ground and didn't move an inch.

"Meteor mash!"

The bird was too close to avoid. Metagross brought up a column-like leg, and brought it back down glowing like a meteor.

"Barrel roll to dodge!"

The bird spun out of the way, but the massive blow still glanced it's side, damaging it.

"Now, close combat!"

Pidgeot began clawing and wing-slapping Metagross with incredible force, causing damage with each blow.

"Zen Headbutt!"

Metagross' X shaped face-plate began to glow, and then it slammed into Pidgeot, sending it flying.

"Finish with hyper beam!"

Metagross charged blue and purple energy before firing the sinister beam and striking the Pokémon in mid-air. Pidgeot fell to the stage below in an unconscious heap.

"Unbelievable! What a finish! Pidgeot is down from a fierce attack! The winner of the match is the mystery trainer!" called the announcer.

Cyndy withdrew Pidgeot into its PokéBall, and fell to her knees and hung her head in sadness and exhaustion. Dan also withdrew Metagross into its Ball, and walked over to his defeated opponent. He bent down on one knee in front of her, and put a hand on her shoulder. When he did, she looked up into deep emerald eyes.

"Hey, you shouldn't beat yourself up over one loss. It happens to everyone at some point, even me. There will always be someone better than you out there, but all we can do is keep training and make ourselves stronger so that we can keep up with those people." he said comfortingly.

She only kept looking into his eyes, but slowly worked her face into a smile.

"There we go. Now let's pick ourselves up, shall we?" he said as he stood up and offered a hand to her.

She slowly took it, and when she did, he helped her to her feet. The audience only cheered louder at this and the commentator said

"What a touching display of sportsmanship. This trainer really appears to know what Pokémon battles are all about."

-

"So what made you just jump out of the audience like that?" asked Cyndy as she and Dan walked through the lit streets of Pokétopia.

"I don't know. I guess I felt like doing something really bold, and then I remembered your challenge. I thought it was kinda cool." he said, and she giggled in response.

"Yeah, I guess so. That was a really fun battle though. I thought I had you after that close combat. but then you just had to go and zen headbutt Pidgeot."

"Hey, I don't hold back against anyone. There was even some overconfident little kid that came up and challenged me. I left him in the dust."

"Well, who doesn't love crushing pee-wees of Pokémon?"

"Heh, very true. But it's not as fun as a battle between equal trainers. There's nothing like that kind of rush, and that's why our battle was the most fun I've had in a while."

"But you creamed me in five minutes."

"It was still a challenge. You _did_ almost win with that close combat. Must've been a critical hit or something."

"I guess so."

The two were silent for a little while as they continued walking, their destination unknown. A new problem arose when Cyndy let out a yawn.

"I guess we should find a place to spend the night. It's getting to be about midnight." suggested Dan.

"Yeah. I'm getting pretty tired. You?"

"Yeah, I'm tired too. The Pokétopia hotel's over there. Should we spend the night there?" he said as he pointed to a large hotel with a large bright Pikachu head perched on top.

"Good idea."

The two trainers walked into the hotel, and walked up to the receptionist.

"Do you have any rooms available?" Dan asked the receptionist.

"Let me check…" said the receptionist as she turned to her computer. She turned back and said "We have one room left. It's a two-bed room, if you're planning to share."

"Okay with you?" Dan asked Cyndy.

She didn't really mind sharing as long as it had two beds. How bad could it be?

"Sure." she replied.

"We'll take it." he said as he handed the receptionist the money for the room, and got two room card keys in exchange.

"Has our luggage arrived from the ship yet?"

"Yes. I'll have it sent to your room immediately."

They took the key cards, and boarded the elevator. Their room was on the seventh floor, and had a nice balcony. Cyndy was taking a look around the room, and found it to be pleasantly cozy. She wanted to say something to her new friend, but she found him asleep on his bed with all clothes still on except his shoes, bag, fingerless gloves, and turquoise beret. He had not bothered to get under the covers.

She looked at his sleeping form for a moment, and noticed for the first time a pendant with an emerald embedded in it. This caused curiosity to rise within her. It was like no pendant she had ever seen before. It looked like it was very old. It had some strange markings on it; similar to the yellow patterns she had seen on Rayquaza. She would ask about it in the morning. She was too tired to worry about it very much. She took off her shoes, bag, and cap and slipped under the covers of her bed, and quickly began to fall asleep. She was just glad that he didn't snore…

-

It was dark out. They'd have to slow down for the sake of the crew. To commander Sirnaq, it was just a waste of precious time. He was to lead the first attack on Pokétopia. He stood on the prow of the battleship with a large 'R' emblazoned in red in the sides. His crew had gone to sleep for the night, but not Sirnaq. Sirnaq never slept. As a former ninja, it was his way to keep himself alert and ready at all times.

As a tiny faint glow made itself barely visible along the nighttime horizon, Sirnaq narrowed his eyes. He was soon going to have to commence this dishonorable mission. He had never agreed with any of Team Rocket's motives, but was forced to fight for them against his will. He shuddered at the very thought of it. If he ever got the chance to leave the Rockets, he would, as well as devote the rest of his life to fighting them.

He snarled under his scarf. It was far too late…

-

Man! That took a while. Hopefully now that there are two chapters, more people will start to review! More about Dan's past will be revealed in the next chapter. Sorry if the self-insert was bad, but I'm bad with names. I even stole the four commander's names from some Megaman games. (Megaman is property of Capcom.) I took Sig from Jak 2 and 3. (Jak and Daxter is property of whoever made it.) Next chapter, secrets will be revealed, and battles will be waged!


	3. The Dragon Lord

Alright! People are actually starting to like this story! I was kinda hoping for more than one review, though. I'd like to get some critiques and comments other than the usual 'good job' and 'I really like this'. Not that that's not good, but I'd like some actual feedback on how I'm doing. Anything like that would be much appreciated. Now, on to business. Response to Ketchum Kid: No, I don't plan on making a third main character. That would be too much like the TV series. Yech. Anyway, bring on chapter 3!

The Final Journey

-

As the warmth of the morning sun beat down onto her even through the warmth of the sheets in her hotel room, Cyndy awoke feeling contently refreshed. She was so comfortable with the feeling of warmth and the softness of the bed, she didn't even bother to open her eyes. There were no coliseum challenges open today, so she was able to sleep in. She intended to take complete advantage of that.

Unfortunately, something else had different plans. She felt a hot wave of breath against her face. She shrugged it off and fell back to the feeling of comfort. At the second one, she started to become annoyed, especially because it smelled extremely unpleasant. She turned her head upward and slowly opened her eyes. She blinked a couple of times to focus her eyes, but wasn't prepared for what she found in front of them. She found herself staring into a pair of bright yellow eyes. A pair of bright yellow eyes connected to a blue snout with a yellow star in the tip of the nose, a red lower jaw, two pods on either side of its head similar to jet engines, and several dagger like teeth protruding from its upper jaw, visible even through its closed mouth.

It just kept staring into her eyes, and she just kept staring into the terrifying face hovering above her. She drew a breath and let her emotions loose.

"WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

"WOAH! WHA- WHO- WHERE- Huh?" Cyndy's scream woke Dan with a start as well.

Dan looked over to the origin of the scream, and could barely stifle a laugh at what he saw. A large blue dragon with fins was standing next to Cyndy's bed, his head turned so he could give her a blank stare in the face. Cyndy was staring back at it with a look of pure terror. Dan couldn't hold back any longer. He burst out laughing.

"And just what is so funny about this?!"

"Ha ha! Oh, just the look on your face. Ha ha ha!"

"This isn't funny! Garchomp are supposed to be extremely vicious! One's staring me in the face, and you're just sitting there LAUGHING!?" she screamed.

"Yes. Garchomp's mine. Don't worry; he's as friendly as they come. He likes to goof around like that. He wouldn't hurt a fly unless I tell him otherwise." he explained.

Garchomp, at that time, backed off and began going into a frenzy of growls and roars that could have passed as laughter.

"Knock it off, Garchomp." said Dan as he recalled Garchomp into its PokéBall in a flash of light.

Dan turned his attention back to Cyndy, who still had a terrified expression, and walked over and sat on her bed. He put his hand comfortingly on her shoulder. To his surprise, she was slightly shaking in fear.

"You're shaking. What's wrong?"

"I… I've had a similar experience with a Gyarados…" She said weakly.

"Oh. Well, don't worry. You're okay. I'll keep Garchomp under control."

She only nodded lightly in response.

"The incident with the Gyarados… tell me about it."

"O-okay… I fell asleep by a lake, and I woke up with a huge Gyarados staring down at me. I screamed… it got angry…… I barely escaped with my life…" she struggled out as tears came to her eyes.

As she slowly began to fall into tears, Dan put his arm around her shoulders in an attempt to calm her down.

"That must have been terrible for you."

She only responded with more tears. Dan brought his hand to her face and used a single forefinger to wipe her tears away.

"Hey… don't cry. Tears don't suit a pretty face like yours. C'mon, let's see a smile." he comforted.

She blushed slightly at his comment, but stopped crying nonetheless. She looked into his pure emerald eyes and smiled. She always seemed to be able to smile when she looked into his eyes.

"There we go. Much better." he said.

Dan removed his arm from her shoulder and stood up. He slipped on his shoes, clipped o his bag, and put his turquoise beret on his silver-haired head. He took Cyndy's hand and helped her off her bed. She then mimicked his actions with her own gear, and then Dan's pendant caught her eye again.

"Hey, where did you get that pendant? I've never seen anything like it before." she asked.

"What this? It's a family heirloom. It's thousands of years old."

"Those yellow marks on it… I saw patterns very similar on Rayquaza's body. How come?"

"That's kinda hard to explain. You see, the pendant actually _came_ from Rayquaza."

"It CAME from Rayquaza!?" she blurted out.

"Yeah. I don't really know how, though. All I know is that ever since this pendant has been in my family, my forefathers who have worn it have all been powerful Dragon trainers." he explained.

"You're from a family of Dragon trainers? You mean like Lance?"

"Not like lance. His dragon trainer clan only dates back a few hundred years. Mine dates back at least a thousand. Lance is from the family of Dragon Tamers. I hail from the family of the Dragon Lords."

"I've never heard of the Dragon Lords…"

"That's because I'm the last Dragon Lord. This pendant comes with that title. My father was the Dragon Lord, but he passed the pendant and the title to me when I left on my first journey. Now, I'm the last Lord."

"I had no idea… that must be why you have a special connection with Rayquaza."

"Heh, yeah. That among other things. I still don't understand why he took a liking to you. I can think of one reason, but it's completely outrageous." said Dan with a shake of his head.

"What reason is that?"

Dan walked past her toward the door.

"Don't worry about it. C'mon, let's get some breakfast. I'm starving."

Cyndy sighed and followed suit.

-

"It looks like this one's called the Main Street coliseum." Dan said as he and Cyndy checked a BBS by the entrance of a large pedestal-like arena.

"Yeah. It says here that there's a tournament tomorrow. I guess that they're setting up today."

"Guess so. Well, that leaves us more time for sightseeing." he said cheerfully.

"I never would have taken you as one who enjoyed sightseeing."

"Well, I more or less call it laughing at the ridiculous Pokémon themed buildings."

"Ha ha, you mean like that one over there that looks like a Lickylicky?"

"Exactly."

They both walked away from the coliseum, and began commenting on the 'creative' buildings. However, they were stopped in their tracks when Dan heard a familiar annoying voice yelling to him from behind.

"Hey, mister! Wait up!" said the voice.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." said Dan as he turned around and saw the pee-wee trainer with the Pikachu he had creamed only last night.

The young boy caught up to him, and panted for a few seconds before pulling a PokéBall off his belt.

"I want a re-match!" he declared.

Dan slapped his forehead and cursed under his breath.

"Bah, fine. You need to learn how to swallow your pride." Dan said as he pulled out a PokéBall as well.

When Dan took the Ball off his belt, Cyndy caught a glance at a purple PokéBall with pink marks on it; a Master Ball. She briefly pondered what kind of powerful Pokémon would have to be caught with a rare and powerful PokéBall like that. She came to her senses a few seconds later when she realized that she needed to back off so the boys could battle.

"You have the first choice." said Dan.

"Alright, then! Go, Staravia!" he yelled as he threw his PokéBall.

A flash of light, and a black bird with a white down swooped into the air. It had a somewhat imposing look to it.

Dan smirked as he threw his PokéBall, and out came a flash of light. When the light faded, a large slender green lizard that was standing on its hind legs appeared. It had a red lower jaw, a red stripe across its belly, two sharp leaves protruding from each forearm, six yellow bulbs on its back, bright yellow eyes, and a fern-like tail. The Sceptile narrowed its eyes, and let out a screech much like a velociraptor Cyndy had seen on a movie called Jurassic Park.

"Ha ha!" the kid laughed at Dan "Sceptile's a grass-type! Not gonna do so hot against a flying-type like Staravia!"

Dan narrowed his eyes, and showed some teeth with his smirk. "Never underestimate your opponent."

"Staravia, use aerial ace!" the kid called.

"Sceptile, detect, and then counter with leaf blade." Dan said cooly.

A glint appeared Sceptile's eyes as Staravia launched itself at it with incredible speed. However, as the move was about to hit, Sceptile sidestepped the attack, then extended the leaves on its forearms into long glowing green blades, and sliced at the black bird's side. The attack hit it's mark hard, and Staravia was sent flying off to the side.

"Solar beam!" Dan called out.

The yellow orbs on Sceptile's back began to glow vigorously. Staravia was still helplessly plummeting toward the ground. A few seconds later, and Sceptile's eyes and mouth were glowing; the beam was ready.

"Go for point blank!" he called to his Sceptile.

The tall lizard leapt up, and seemed to disappear in a blur. It reappeared in the blink of an eye next to the falling and helpless bird, and opened its mouth. A blindingly bright surge of energy burst from Sceptile's open mouth, and completely enveloped Staravia. The beam slammed into the ground below, causing an explosion. When the flames and dust cleared, an unconscious Staravia was in the smoldering crater on the ground. The kid groaned in annoyance, and recalled Staravia into its PokéBall. Dan did the same with Sceptile, and clipped the Ball to his belt.

"There, you've had your re-match. Will you leave me alone, now?" demanded Dan.

Grrrr… I won't forget this! I'll get you next time!" the kid yelled as he started to run to the Pokémon Center.

"Ugh. That kid had better not think of me as a rival. I'd sooner eat Muk droppings than be a rival to that clueless little amateur." Dan ranted, and then continued walking; ignoring the smoking hole in the street he had left behind.

Cyndy giggled, and then followed. She noticed the same purple PokéBall at his belt briefly as he walked past. She couldn't contain her curiosity.

"Hey Dan, who's in the Master Ball?" she asked once she caught up with him.

Dan smirked and replied "Oh, that's a surprise."

Cyndy groaned in disappointment and kept walking.

"When will I find out?" she asked.

Dan looked to the sky as if looking for an answer in the clouds. When he found it, his smirk widened and he turned his head to face her.

"You'll find out tonight. Promise." he replied.

She nodded and glanced at the Master Ball once more. Dan noticed this, and decided to tease her a bit. He took the Master Ball off his belt, and began tossing it to himself in his hand. He saw her glare at him, and decided to get more daring. He started to juggle the purple Ball in his hands, and then stopped to spin it on one finger. She couldn't take it anymore. She quickly snatched the Ball off his finger, and threw it into the air.

"GO!" she yelled to the Pokémon inside.

However, her nearly successful attempt to discover the Pokémon's identity was foiled when Dan moved as quickly as a blur, and leapt up ten feet to catch the Master Ball before the Pokémon inside was released. As he grasped the Ball in his hand, he somersaulted in mid-air, and landed gracefully on his feet. He clipped the Master Ball back onto his belt, smirked at Cyndy, and wagged a finger at her.

"That's cheating. Nice try, though."

Cyndy wasn't listening to his taunt. She was only staring at him, mouth agape at the feat he had just accomplished.

"H-how did you do that!?" she asked

Dan took a few steps toward her. She immediately noticed a change in his eyes. His pupils and irises had narrowed to reptile-like slits.

"Being a Dragon Lord is more than just having a fancy title." he said slyly as his eyes returned to normal.

She shook her head. "I swear, you just keep getting weirder and weirder by the minute."

He laughed and replied "Wouldn't be any fun if I didn't."

With all shenanigans passed, they continued to sightsee until the dark hours of the evening.

-

The two trainers exited the restaurant after enjoying a multi-course meal that only Pokétopia could offer. The night sky was perfectly clear and cloudless, and stars could barely be made out through the city lights. Cyndy had always loved to stargaze, and asked Dan to come with her to the pier so they could do just that. Of course Dan happily obliged, and they set out for their destination. Cyndy now leaned against the railing of a lookout perched over a cliff. There, the stars were much clearer than in the city. Cyndy stared dreamily at the sky, while Dan simply stood there with his hands in his pockets and his eyes closed. He sighed, pulled his mysterious Master Ball off his belt, and leaned against the railing, never taking his eyes off the spherical device for capturing Pokémon. Cyndy glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, then looked at him with both eyes.

"You okay?" she asked.

Dan didn't answer right away. He just kept gazing seriously at the Master Ball in his hand.

"I told you that I'd show you this Pokémon tonight." he said.

"Oh, yeah…"

"This isn't just any Pokémon you know. Master Balls are extremely rare and powerful for one reason: they are designed to capture extremely powerful Pokémon. Inside this is one such Pokémon. Can you handle it? A Pokémon of legendary status?" he asked.

She looked unsurely at him for a moment. This incredibly skilled and mysterious trainer that she had met less than three days ago had even enough skill to capture a legendary Pokémon? Then again, she had no idea what a Dragon Lord was capable of after seeing his eyes and him jump ten feet in the air. She wanted to see what this trainer was truly capable of. She straightened her face and nodded.

He understood. He drew back his arm to throw the Master Ball, but stopped as he came up with an idea.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Of course." she replied.

"Then cover your eyes, and no peeking." he said with his trademark smirk.

She complied without hesitation. He heard him say something.

"Alright, come on out. But be very quiet." he said.

She heard a surge of energy as the Pokémon was released from the Ball, and felt the previous light breeze completely disappear. She felt Dan picking her up, one arm supporting her legs, and his other supporting her back, and she felt him jump, then fall. He landed on something, then sat her down on a warm seemingly cylindrical body. She felt him sit down behind her, and wrap an arm around her to keep her from falling off. He then heard Dan pat the side of the beast they were riding, and felt a sudden rush of air through her chocolate locks of hair.

"You can open your eyes now." he said into her ear.

She indeed opened them. What she saw when they did open, was a sight she would never forget for as long as she lived.

-

The dark battleship was stationed a few hundred meters off shore, and commander Sirnaq had led a small fleet of dingeys with several squads of Rocket grunts from the ship to the shores of Pokétopia. The journey was a silent one, but as the rowboats crashed lightly on the sandy beach, the commander began relaying orders for the grunts to begin setting up a base camp in a location that had been strategically planned out just hours before coming ashore.

With orders relayed, Sirnaq stepped back to watch his men and make sure that they did their jobs right. He did not expect to hear any other sounds, but was somewhat startled when he heard an echoing hollow roar pierce the quietness of the night. His men also began looking around stupidly for the origin of the strange noise. Sirnaq grunted loudly, and the grunts quickly went back to work.

They had to act fast while they still had the element of surprise…

-

Cliffhanger! So, I'm gonna have readers guess which Pokémon Dan showed to Cyndy. Don't be shy, there are no wrong answers! Well, there are actually. Anyway, review and place guesses! Next chapter: Team Rocket's first strike! LEAVE REVIEWS!!


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